Review Of Current Embedded System Hardware, Os, Development Systems And Application Domains For Instructional Design

Embedded computer systems are changing more than other computing environments since the scope of their application domain is expanding. Once embedded system development was largely focused on 8-bit, standalone systems written directly in assembly or C. These systems were characterized by slow CPUs and kilobytes of memory. Now they are embracing ever-widening application domains to include not only 8-bit standalone systems but real-time, networked, OSbased, wireless systems with megabytes of memory and 32-bit CPUs, with connections to the world through sensors, actuators and communication links. In this burgeoning environment it is difficult for instructional designers to select a range of systems suitable for a college-level embedded systems course. This paper reviews and classifies the application domains, hardware systems, operating systems and development systems for the field of embedded systems. This enables instructional designers to place specific systems in context and to intelligently select the appropriate sub-domain for their own purposes. Guidelines are proposed for courses in embedded systems for achieving different objectives.